Legacy 1x10: Lovers Lane, Part II
by Lady Dawson
Summary: Complete. With Susan kidnapped by an old enemy, the gang must band together with her old love Ethan. But with this alliance, two loves will be destroyed . . . and one will be renewed.
1. The Keeper of the Prophecy

**Legacy: Lovers Lane, Part II**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter One: The Keeper of the Prophecy

No one moved, no one spoke, no one even breathed as Cassandra disappeared with Susan Dawson, vanishing into thin air. Chris Halliwell only stared at the spot where she had vanished, his heart clenching as the full implications of what had happened hit him in full.

He'd been tricked, once again, by a demon. And if he had been thinking straight, if he had just trusted Susan, as Brooke Murphy had told him, then maybe they wouldn't be in this situation right now.

Maybe Susan would be safe, as she obviously was before they had tracked her down. While he loathed the half-demon who apparently held a place in Susan's heart, he had to admit that she was probably safe with Brandon James and Bobby Connelly. Her Whitelighter, even though he was betraying their trust by kissing Brooke, did take care of her. And Bobby . . . well, he was her brother, after all. That pretty much said it all.

Casting a glance towards Ethan Hale, Chris noticed the desolate expression on the half-demon's face as he stood up, turning away from the group as he headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Brandon demanded, blocking his path. Ethan shook his head, gritting his teeth. "Look, we need to get her back and the only way to do that is to work together."

"Brandon, get out of my way," Ethan snarled.

"Just let him go," Chris said coldly, looking at the half-demon with indifference. "I mean, he's the reason why all of this is happening." His brother shot him a warning look as Ethan turned his attention back to the younger Halliwell, taking a threatening step towards him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, his voice cold and menacing. A deaf man would have backed away at his imposing manner.

"You know what it means," Chris retorted. "Maybe if you had just stayed away from her in the first place, then your father wouldn't have found reason to come after her. She would never have been in any danger and—"

"And she would've been dead long before now," Ethan growled at him. "I not trying to be egotistic here, but that's just the deal. If my father hadn't accepted that job to assassinate her, then somebody else would have. And there's no guarantee she would've made it out alive."

"She's stronger than you think," Chris shot back.

"Don't presume to think that I don't know that." Ethan's brown gaze tore through him. "Don't think that I don't know how strong she is. But I also know that she has her limits. And if you think for instant that she can handle being held captive by my father again, if he does the same thing he did last time, then you don't know her at all."

Silence fell over the hotel room and Chris couldn't think of a good comeback. What exactly _had_ happened when Susan had allegedly been kidnapped by Tristan Hale?

Ethan turned on his heel to leave and might've made it past Brandon had Brooke not stopped him. "Hold on a minute, Ethan," she said before looking at the group at large. "I don't know about you guys, but I've had about enough of this. Right now, Susan is in danger and I'm not just gonna sit around while you two have this jealousy contest with one another. If this Tristan is as bad as Susan made him sound on that message, then we're going to need everybody on board."

"There is no way that I am working with a demon," Chris snapped at her, keeping his eyes fixed on Ethan.

Brooke folded her arms across her chest, her brown eyes narrowing. "Well, I am," she replied. "In case you haven't noticed, Christopher, we are in a lot of trouble here and so is your girlfriend. So unless you want to see her lying dead somewhere in the Underworld, then I suggest that you get on board."

Bobby let out a low whistle, shaking his head. "Never thought you had it in you, Murphy," he commented. Brooke glared at him and he held up his hands. "Don't look at me; I'm completely on board. She's been through enough."

"Glad we agree," Brooke said with a smile at him before turning to the other guys in the room. "So . . . Wyatt, Brandon? You two either get on board or get off the tracks."

Both Whitelighters looked at each other, surprised, but Brandon shrugged. "Don't look at me; I've got no quarrels with this."

"I thought it was against the rules for Whitelighters to work with demons," Chris muttered, giving Brandon a dirty look, which the Whitelighter either ignored or didn't notice.

"Times change," Brandon replied. "Besides, it's either this or I risk losing a charge. Believe me, the Elders will understand."

"Wyatt?" Brooke asked, her hands on her hips as she looked at her boyfriend. Chris shot a thundering look at his brother, who sighed.

"Little brother, sorry, but I'm gonna have to go with them on this one. Like it or not, I don't think that Susan's in any danger from Ethan. Besides that, he's the only one who might have a chance of tracking her in the Underworld. Plus, you know how your dad's mind works. We might stand a chance if we work together."

"Traitor," Chris muttered.

"Shut up, Chris!" Brooke shouted, her patience wearing thin. Everyone was caught off guard when the ground started rumbling underneath them and Chris stumbled in surprise. Bobby dived under the counter as Wyatt pulled Brooke into the bathroom doorway. Brooke had her fingertips pressed against her temples in concentration and the quake slowly ceased and she opened her eyes, looking sheepish. "Sorry . . ."

"Are you trying to get us killed?!" Chris yelled at her.

Bobby, apparently having enough, put his fingers in his mouth and released an ear-splitting whistle that caused Ethan to trip over the couch, landing in a heap on the ground and Chris sent some potion vials smashing into the wall.

"I'm with Brooke," he said in annoyance. "Enough! While we're sitting around here bickering, Susan's in real trouble here. So can we save this banter until after this is over. Now," he added, moving towards the potion that Cassandra Hale had smashed on the stove. "What exactly was this for?"

"Susan was trying to make a potion to vanquish Dad," Ethan said, looking towards Bobby more gently than he had any of the others. "We thought that if we added my blood to the potion, then it might lower the invincibility, you know? Remove whatever's blocking him from being vanquished."

"Hmm." Bobby scooped some of the potion still on the stove on his finger, sticking some of it on his tongue before spitting it out. "Jeez, she must really hate this guy. Okay, I think I know what she was trying to do, so I can recreate what she had here, but we're gonna need something else. And this ingredient's a little hard to come by."

"What is it?" Brandon asked. Bobby ran his fingers through his hair, looking dubious as to answer.

"Ksane root," he finally said, causing everyone to stare at him in astonishment, shock, or bewilderment. Brandon was the first one to speak.

"Bobby . . . I'm not sure if you know this, but a Ksane root will stop . . . I mean, it has enough power to destroy civilisations. It even has before." He looked at the group at large. "It's powerful stuff, too powerful. There's a reason why both sides agreed never to use it."

"But only one of them agreed to it," Ethan said quietly. He stood up and looked at Bobby pointedly. "Are you absolutely sure that it's gonna work?"

"Absolutely."

"All right. I can get it," Ethan told him. "The rest of you should try and find where that assassin went to. We find him, he'll lead us to Cassie—"

"And Cassandra will lead us to Susan," Brooke finished up for him. "Okay, you two do that," she said, pointing at Wyatt and Chris. "I'll stay here with Bobby and help him with the potion."

"You can't make potions," Wyatt pointed out. She glared at him.

"I said I'd help, he'd do the actually making," she replied before looking at Bobby worriedly. "You _can_ make potions, can't you?"

"Not a problem," Bobby replied, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, good. So we'll do that, you two do the snoopy thing, Ethan will get that root and Brandon, go Up There and get the Elders to . . . do something, give us any kind of information . . . _whatever_ They can do that would help us, that would great. Just get them to help! Okay? Everybody clear on what they're supposed to do? Great," she added without waiting for an answer. "Then let's move out."

--

Susan Dawson stayed huddled in the furthest corner in her cell, fiddling with the chains that kept her from moving too much. She remembered all too well what had happened when she'd tried that the last time. The chains were created so that if a prisoner yanked on them hard enough, an electric current would shoot through their body, enough to knock them out for a few hours and paralyse them for a few more.

Looking up as the cell door opened, Susan scooted herself as one of the demons entered, dropping off the evening meal without so much as glancing at her. He was out in the matter of seconds.

The bread was mouldy, the water hot and sick-looking. But even if they had provided her with a five-course meal, Susan couldn't have brought herself to eat it. She wasn't hungry. Her stomach was churning, her hands shaking, and she couldn't keep her mind off of what was going to happen.

"If you're not hungry, then . . . would you mind?" a quavering voice asked from her side. Susan looked up to see a pale face peering out from a hole in her cell. The girl was half-starved and obviously beaten.

Picking up the bread and water, Susan got to her feet and walked over to the girl, passing her the food through the hole.

The girl hungrily tore into the food, devouring it in seconds and sloppily drank the water, but Susan could only stare at the girl. Now that she had gotten a good look at her, she recognised her. She was thinner than she remembered, her hair longer, her face paler and gaunt, but it was the same girl.

"Neasa?" she whispered, shock running through her. Blue eyes flashed upwards and the girl cocked her head. "Neasa Jackson, is that you?"

"Susan Dawson," Neasa whispered, getting unsteadily to her feet and walking over to her. "By the gods, it can't be! How could you be here? How did you get here?" Her voice was unsteady and shaky, a trace of the confident young witch that Susan had met years ago. Before San Francisco, before Ryan and her mother's deaths, before Brooke . . .

Before Ethan.

"It's not the first time," Susan whispered, shaking her head. "I got away once before, but Tristan's got sort of a vendetta against me. Plus my father who turned the dark side is working with him . . ."

"What did you do to Hale?" Neasa asked, shaking her head. "We're in the top security vault. Only the ones that he doesn't want to get away he puts here. He doesn't put just anybody here. He has to hate them a lot."

Susan shrugged. "I fell in love with his son and he turned to the side of good for me," she admitted, causing Neasa to release a small chuckle.

"You fell in love with a demon?"

"Half-demon," Susan countered. "His mother was very much human, I'll have you know. What about you, how'd you get here?"

"It's not me that he's after, it's my sister," Neasa admitted. Susan nodded; she remembered Neasa's twin sister Noreen. They had been identical to the last strand of hair, yet as different as day and night. "He thinks that if he keeps me here long enough, then she'll come racing to my rescue."

"What did your sister do to him?" Susan asked, curious.

Neasa sighed. "It's not something that she did _to_ him. It's something that she's keeping _from_ him. There's this prophecy that was given to two guardians upon the previous keepers deaths. Each had one part of it and only with both parts can the full prophecy ever be read. I had one part and Noreen had the other. And this stupid fallen witch stole it from me when they captured me. Once they have Noreen's half, then they'll know exactly what's in that prophecy."

Susan's heart stopped in her chest, her mind travelling back to that fateful day in Peter Connelly's office, when she had discovered, at long last, the truth about her half-brother and her memories of that night her family had died had been returned.

"Was it . . . Neasa, you need to tell me, was the prophecy about the two sons of one of the Charmed Ones, a witch who is also a nymph, the child of a fallen witch, and something called 'the light in the darkness'?"

Neasa's eyes flew to hers and her mouth opened slightly. "How do you know . . .?"

"I found the prophecy in Peter Connelly's office," Susan explained hastily, glancing over her shoulder at the door. "I stole it from him and hid it, so that he couldn't find it again."

"Well, that's something. But how do you know Peter Connelly?"

Susan looked at her miserably, her shoulders sagging. "Because," she said quietly, "Peter Connelly is my father, Neasa." The blonde witch's mouth opened in surprise. "And I'm friends with these two brothers, Chris and Wyatt Halliwell and my best friend has a witch and a nymph for parents."

"And you're the daughter of a fallen witch," Neasa whispered. "It's happening. It's happening now! Of course, all of you are coming together."

"Neasa, you have to tell me, please," Susan whispered. "The part that I found mentioned That-Which-Cannot-Be-Named. Is this the battle that we're supposed to be fighting together? Is Tristan the great evil?"

The blonde witch shook her head. "It is much more powerful than Tristan Hale and Peter Connelly," she replied. "If this was the battle, you'd know it. I don't know what the great evil is, Susan, nor do I want to. But I do know that it's more powerful than anything that you have ever faced. It comes from another galaxy and is older than all of the demons that walk the earth put together. And you've got to be ready for when it comes."

"When will that be?"

Neasa shook her head helplessly. "I don't know," she whispered as the door to Susan's cell opened and she spun around to find the guard in the doorway, his face twisted into a sadistic smile.

"Time to meet with the Master," he said smoothly.

**--Opening Credits--**

Title song: "Chariot" by Gavin Degraw

Drew Fuller as Chris Halliwell

Wes Ramsey as Wyatt Halliwell

Michelle Trachtenberg as Susan Dawson

Anne Hathaway as Brooke Murphy

Hayden Christensen as Brandon James

and Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Connelly


	2. Making a Choice

**Legacy: Lovers Lane, Part II**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Two: Making a Choice

Brooke sat at the island, reading down the list that Bobby had made and making sure that they had enough of the ingredients and cutting up the ones that needed to be cutting.

"So, I have to ask," she commented, looking towards the witch who was cooking the potion, causing him to look up, "if your dad is the big bad of the Underworld and your mom is his personal assassin, how did you get to be so good at potions?"

Bobby shot her a half-annoyed look, but smiled, letting her know that he knew it was kindly meant. "Well, my mom isn't all bad. She's just under a spell and it's really powerful, so much that she can only keep her mind for short intervals. But when she was, she would teach me as much as she could. Dad never found out about the potion classes, but . . . I love it. There's something relaxing about it."

Shaking her head, Brooke chuckled, causing Bobby to look at her, slightly offended. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you and Susan are related." She looked at the younger witch with a kind smile. "You two are so much alike, you know that?"

"Yeah," Bobby said, distracted. He looked directly at the potion, giving it more attention than was really needed. "That'd be pretty crazy, wouldn't it? If we actually turned out to be related."

"Oh, it would be beyond crazy," Brooke agreed as she tore up the thyme leaves, pushing them towards him. She glanced upwards towards the heavens before looking at Bobby curiously. "Where do you think Brandon is? He's been Up There forever."

"I suspect he might be having trouble getting a straight answer out of the Elders," Bobby answered. "Can you get the rosemary leaves? They're the ones on the end there."

"Still, it shouldn't be taking him this long," Brooke pointed out. "What if something's happened?"

Bobby sighed. "You're worried about Brandon, who is just going Up There to get information from the paragons of all good, when the people you should be worried about are Susan, Chris, Wyatt, and Ethan, all of whom are down in the Underworld, either captured, tracking down a demon, or trying to find a very powerful herb?" He shook his head. "You don't think I know what's going on?"

Brooke sighed. "I think you are very young and get ideas that should not be in your head," she replied, though her heart began to beat faster than usual due to anticipation and anxiety.

"Give me a break, I'm only three years younger than you," Bobby shot back. "I've seen the way that you look at Brandon. And the way that he looks at you. But I've also seen the way that you look at Wyatt and it's not too hard to see where your heart lies." Brooke stared at him. "It's not fair to either one of them to keep up this game, Brooke. And it's really not fair to Susan to continue taking advantage of her good nature. She wants to be your friend and you two have been friends for a long time. But . . . but you're putting her in the middle here. She's dating Chris, who is Wyatt's brother. At the same time, she cares about Brandon, her Whitelighter. And it's not fair to put her in the middle yet again. Just like it's not fair to Chris to expect him to keep this from his brother. Something gotta happen, Brooke. You can't have both of them. You're going to have to make a choice here."

"You mean like Susan?" Brooke stared at him, eyebrows raised. "I don't know who we're kidding here, there's some major history between Ethan and Susan and if you ask me, it's not over yet. And yet, she couldn't take the time to explain to her boyfriend, or any of us, for that matter, about Ethan and what he meant to her? Because he obviously meant a great deal, otherwise she wouldn't have jumped to his rescue like that."

"Susan hasn't had the chance to explain it and to be honest, I really think she was trying to protect everybody when she left."

"Has had the chance? Bobby, she has been dating Chris for _months_. She and I have been friends for years. And she hasn't had a spare minute to explain about Ethan?"

"I was talking about since this started," Bobby said, rolling his eyes. "And besides that, I really think that she was trying to convince herself that she was ready to move on from him. But she's not. She's clearly still in love with him. I think she cares about Chris, just not the way that he wants her to or she wants herself to. As much as we may like to, we don't choose who we love."

"Oh, that's just—"

"And anyway, we are not talking about Susan's problems. We're talking about yours." He picked up the rosemary leaves. "You need to make a choice here, Brooke. And sooner rather than later."

Brooke made a face at him. "You're too nosy for your own good, you know that?" she grumbled, picking up the Book of Shadows and opening it up to the page on Tristan Hale. She made a face at the grotesque picture. "Are you just about finished with that potion?"

"Just about, we just need the Ksane root and Ethan's blood," Bobby replied, stirring the potion. Brooke nodded, her gaze travelling to the page opposite.

"Oh, boy . . ." she muttered as she shifted her position to look at the Book more closely just as Ethan shimmered into the room, startling both witches. Brooke scowled at him. "Can't you knock before you do that?"

"Sorry," Ethan apologised. "And sorry it took me so long, I had to get past a couple of assassins who recognised me. Here's the root," he added, pulling a glass jar out of his jacket and handing it to Bobby, who took it gingerly.

"A couple of assassins?" Brooke repeated. "They didn't follow you back here, did they? Because we can't afford to make this potion _again_."

"I'm sure," Ethan said with a trace of annoyance in his voice. "Because they're dead." Brooke sighed, looking towards Bobby as he carefully measured out some of the root before taking a step back.

"I would get duck if I were you two," he said dryly. Brooke immediately ducked underneath the island and Ethan retreated behind the couch. Bobby took a deep breath as he tossed the root into the potion and took a dive behind the island as it exploded.

Brooke coughed as she waved the smoke aside. "Well, I guess it's done," she said weakly.

"Not yet," Ethan said grimly. "It needs my blood."

"See, that's just seriously gross," Brooke grumbled as he moved towards the potion, picking up a knife from the counter and slicing his palm open, wincing at the pain. Holding it over the pan, he squeezed it as blood oozed out of the cut and dropping into the pan.

Brooke actually did think a bomb exploded from the pan as she dived underneath the counter again. When she looked up again, Ethan was waving the smoke away and looked over at the two.

"It's done," he said dryly.

--

"How hard is it to track down _one_ demon?" Wyatt mused as he and Chris peered around the corner. "At this rate, it's going to take us until next year to find him." He glanced sideways at his brother. "Hey, little brother, you awake in there?"

"I'm fine," Chris said shortly, before looking towards the next tunnel. "I think we should try that one there."

"I didn't ask if you were okay, I asked if you were awake," Wyatt pointed out. "Although now, I think I should ask if you're okay, because a person who says that they're okay usually isn't." He cocked an eyebrow at Chris before shaking his head. "At least acknowledge that this isn't the way to deal with your problem with Ethan."

"Can we just find the demon and be done with it?" Chris retorted. "All I want is to find this demon, vanquish him, rescue my girlfriend, and go home. And send that piece of slim to wherever he crawled out of."

"The piece of slim being Ethan," Wyatt said. It wasn't a question. "Look, Chris, I don't think he's going anywhere. Whatever his relationship was with Susan, it's clear that they're still friends and he's trying to protect her. Just like she was trying to protect us when she ran away." He looked at his brother to see if any of this was sinking in. "You keep this up, little brother, and I think you're just going to drive her away. Because like it or not, she cares about Ethan. A blind man would see that."

"I know that." Chris stopped suddenly and looked at Wyatt, the despair written in his face. "That's just it, Wy. I'm losing her, one way or another. He . . . he knows her. He sees her and reaches her in a way that I can't touch."

"She cares about you," Wyatt pointed out, apprehensive. "She might even love you. And I know you love her."

Chris shook his head. "It's just not enough," he said quietly.

"Isn't it? You're just going to let one rough patch ruin the really good thing that you guys have going here?"

"She's been slipping away for months, Wyatt. She hasn't treated me any differently than she's treated you or Brooke. I . . . I just didn't want to see that it wasn't me that she wanted." Chris shook his head, looking up ahead. "You saw the way that she looked at him."

Wyatt paused; of course he'd seen it. It was impossible for anyone to miss the look on Susan's face when she had looked at Ethan. A look that should have been reserved for his younger brother.

"Okay, Chris, do you remember when I wasn't entirely sure that I could trust Brooke? Do you remember what you told me?" he asked. Chris shrugged. "You said that I needed to trust her. And to talk to her. And you know what? You were right. There is absolutely no point in a relationship if you can't communicate with the other."

Chris suddenly looked nervous and he glanced away. "This is different," he replied, shaking his head. "You think that I want to break up with Susan? She's the best thing that's happened since we had to vanquish Bianca. But I can't just pretend like everything's rosy when it's clear that things are going downhill. I can't pretend to be happy when I'm not and she's not."

Wyatt opened his mouth to say something when a strikingly familiar voice suddenly broke the silence. "I don't care about that, Marcus! The last thing we need is for them to track us down here."

"I'm sorry, Mistress Cassandra, but we've been trying to lure them as far away from here as we can. Unfortunately, that's not going to hold them off for very long. They are _Halliwells_, after all." He paused. "Why doesn't your father just get rid of the girl and be done with it."

"Because, fool, if we kill her, then not only will my brother come after us, but all of those witches as well. Kidnapping one of them is one thing, but killing her is another thing entirely. And I have no doubt that they will be less likely to forget the death of a witch than of a demon, even one who's aligned to good," she added darkly.

Wyatt looked at Chris, who returned his gaze as they edged closer, careful to watch their step in order to prevent alerting them to their presence.

"And you're sure that your brother is going to come after this girl, mistress?" the demon Marcus inquired. "She doesn't seem like much to me."

"He would do anything in order to keep her safe," Cassandra said coldly, tossing her blonde hair back. "And once Ethan is back down here, then he is going to wish that he had never turned his back on us. He is going to curse the day that he ever met that wretched girl."

"But you can't possibly be thinking of letting the girl go," Marcus protested. "You know what she is, what she's supposed to do. Next thing, you'll be saying that you're letting that Keeper go that I went to so much trouble to collect."

"Well, she has outgrown her use," Cassandra snipped. "And it doesn't seem like her sister is going to any great lengths to come after her. But Peter wants that prophecy and the prophecy he shall have. But we're not going to let her go. We're going to take all of them down. Because with just one of them dead . . . the prophecy will never be fulfilled."

_Prophecy?_ Wyatt asked in bewilderment, looking at Chris. _What prophecy? What's she talking about?_

Chris shook his head, looking as bewildered as he did, just as a new voice entered into the chamber.

"As always, my daughter, you have a despicable plan that only reveals the genius of our family." A demon appeared in the room, tall, dark, and sinister. "And as always, you place your plan upon success. But it might interest you to know that this conversation is no longer private." His eyes drifted towards where Chris and Wyatt were hiding.

"Go!" Wyatt hissed, pushing his brother ahead of him. "Run! Orb! Do something besides stand there!"

Chris obeyed as the two brothers raced away from the caverns, orbing out of the Underworld and to safety, unaware that Cassandra had just followed them out and would inflict her wrath on one of their group.

Brooke.


	3. The War and the Prophecy

**Legacy: Lovers Lane, Part II**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Three: The War and the Prophecy

The pain was hot, intense. Susan had to fight in order to keep from screaming, knowing that if she moved one inch, just one little finger, then she would not be able to keep silent. So she stayed still, in a tight ball, her eyes slammed shut so that she would not be able to see Tristan's expression, his gleeful face tormenting the one thing in the world that his son cared about and who loved his son with every fibre of her being.

Instead of focusing on the pain, she plunged into her memories, into those wonderful, beautiful memories of her and Ethan. Perhaps then, she would not focus on the pain. Instead, maybe she would be able to focus on him. He would find her. He would save her and then maybe . . . maybe this nightmare could finally come to an end.

Maybe they would be together again.

Almost the second that that thought swept through her mind, Ethan's face was replaced by Chris's. Chris, the man she was supposed to be in love with, the man who . . . who loved her.

Maybe he had never confessed it, never declared it, but it was every day implied. Every expression, every gaze, every word . . . Susan knew that he had fallen hard for her. And it was wrong that she had started this at all, because she should have known from the start what she had been trying to deny her heart. She should've known what her heart wanted.

And unfortunately, that wasn't Chris. It had never been him. Much as she wanted to fight her heart's desire, much as she wanted to argue that it was impossible, that their relationship was doomed and he would only leave her heartbroken, she knew what she wanted. Susan Dawson knew, in her heart of hearts, that she had always belonged to Ethan. Just as he had belonged to her, as he told her, the day he'd told her he was leaving.

**Flashback**

_Susan sat outside on the porch, the faint whiff of her mother's cooking streaming out from the kitchen, but she barely noticed it, her gaze fixed on the horizon, just staring. She just sat there, a blanket wrapped around her, as she stared ahead. _

_The neighbours, the community, they all talked in whispers about her mysterious disappearance and even more about her return. They said that she had run away, that she'd had an argument with her mother and run away, perhaps with a sweetheart. _

_But what they said about the boy she ran away with was even more unkind. They said that he was an alcoholic, a drunk who had beat her until she had the common sense to go back home. Susan tore her gaze from the horizon as she heard the screen door open and close. _

_Arms wrapped around her and Ethan drew her close, pulling her against him. Susan relaxed, feeling safe only in his arms, as she laid her head on his chest, closing her eyes as she listened to his heartbeat. _

_"I'm sorry," Ethan whispered. "I know it's not enough . . . I know I should have more to say; there should be more words that should be able to express the depths of the sorrow, but . . . I'm sorry." _

_"It's not your fault," Susan whispered, looking up at him. In all the time of her captivity, she had never once been able to blame Ethan. His father wanted her to, wanted her to blame his son for what was happening, but she could never find it in her heart to condemn Ethan. "I never blamed you for that. Hey," she whispered, sitting up and taking his head into her hands. "It's not your fault, Ethan. Blame your father, blame your sister, blame those demons that did this, but don't blame yourself." She leaned her head into the crook of his neck, curling up against him. "I love you." _

_"I love you, too," Ethan whispered, holding her tightly. "That's why I can't do this anymore. I can't keep putting you at risk." _

_Slowly, Susan drew away, confusion surging through her. "What?" she whispered, shaking her head. "What are you talking about?" _

_Ethan shifted his position so that he was looking straight at her. "I can't put you in danger any more, love," he whispered. "Every day that I stay here, I risk your life. My father . . . he's never going to stop. I make the ultimate betrayal and that comes with a price." His eyes flickered upwards. "He wants me dead now and I am not going to let you get involved with that. I'm not going to put you in danger any more." _

_"So . . . so what are you saying, exactly?" Susan demanded, agitation flooding into her voice. "Are you . . . are you breaking up with me? Are you saying you don't want to be with me?" _

_Ethan opened his mouth to say something before shutting it again. "Sweetheart," he began, but she cut him off before he could get another word in. _

_"No! I won't let you! I can do this, Ethan! I'm not as weak as you might think! I just want to be with you! I don't care what happens!" _

_"I do." Ethan looked at her, misery written in his every feature, every mark. Even his voice bore the miserable and forlorn emotions that were set into place. He didn't want to do this, she realised at once. "Susan, I love you. And I want to be with you, always. But how can we be together if the cost is your life? Or the lives of others?" he added, more quietly. _

_It hit Susan then, in full force. Tristan wouldn't just stop with her; he would try and hurt the people she cared about—her mother, her brother, her friends, _their_ friends—in hopes that he could lure her back and with her, Ethan. _

_"Until the war between my father and I is over, we . . . we can't continue this," he said softly. "The only way that I can be with you is when I'm free of my father and my family. I'm going away and taking this war so that you won't be in the middle of it." _

_Tears were streaming down Susan's face as she stared up at the man who had held her heart since the day she met him, even though she hadn't realised who he'd been then, what he'd been. Reaching out, she took his hand and placed it above her heart. _

_"This has always belonged to you," she whispered, keeping his hand in hers as she held it in place. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Know that—that when you leave . . . you're taking it with you." _

_Ethan's eyes opened and portrayed all of his love and passion, with just that once look. "And I'll be leaving mine here, with you," he whispered. "But don't wait for me, Sue. If you move on, I'll understand . . ." _

_"I'll never move on from you," she whispered, shaking her head. "I'll never move on from you." _

**End Flashback**

But she had. She had broken that last, final promise to Ethan that she would move on from him. She had pushed aside her memories in a desperate attempt to keep herself afloat, desperate not to drown in that deep, endless sea of despair. And it had worked, she had managed to keep herself from drowning.

And she had tried to get her life back in order when she left Wisconsin. Found the first guy that she found and tried to move on from Ethan and the deaths of her family.

But all it took was for him to walk back into her life for Susan to realise what her heart had been longing for all along, why she couldn't fully let anybody in. Why she couldn't have let Chris into her heart the way that she wanted to.

Because her heart no longer belonged to her. She had given it away when she was only sixteen, to a man who had given up everything so that he could be with her. And who would risk his life to save her own, because he loved her more than all of the stars in the sky.

If she got through this, they were going to finish this. She wasn't the same seventeen-year-old girl that he had left behind. Susan was a woman, nineteen years old, and ready to fight for what she wanted. And they would stop Tristan, together.

Meanwhile, while she plunged into the memories, the endless pain raged through her.

--

They were bottling up the potion when Chris and Wyatt orbed back into the hotel room. Brooke looked up at them, placing her hands on her hips pointedly. "So?" she asked. "Did you find them?"

"Yes and no," Wyatt reported. "We managed to find Cassandra and Marcus, but we weren't able to follow them to wherever they were hiding. They kind of found out we were listening in. Sorry, babe," he added apologetically at Brooke, who rolled her eyes, but smiled affectionately at him.

"But we did manage to find out what some of their plans are," Chris pointed out. "And I got to say, somehow, I'm don't really see why we should be working with you. 'Cause all they're after is to get rid of you. And to be honest, I might just do the job myself." His eyes narrowed at Ethan, who started to get up when Brooke slammed her hand down on the island, causing everyone in the vicinity to jump.

"Chris, enough," she warned him. "Now what specifically did you find out? Did they say what they were going to do?"

"They said that they were going to kill all of us," Wyatt replied, giving his brother a look. "Something about 'one gone ends the threat.' I'm not sure what it means, but they mentioned some prophecy and a Keeper that they've got imprisoned there . . ."

Ethan stilled, frowning. "Now that I think about it, I remember Dad mentioning a prophecy just before he sent me on that last job," he mused, sitting back down.

"And you couldn't have mentioned this before?" Chris threw at him. Brooke sighed, placing her head into her hands, rubbing her temples, looking like she had a headache.

"Okay, will you two knock it off?" she demanded. "It's bad enough hearing thoughts all of the time, but when you two start throwing unspoken insults at one another, I can only take so much!"

Chris instantly felt bad; he knew how hard it was to control his powers sometimes. "Sorry," he apologised.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Brooke," Ethan said, looking at her. "It's not exactly easy when you've got a demon inside you, just itching to start trouble."

Brooke smiled at him. "Well, as long as he stays underneath, that's all I really care about," she told him before looking at the brothers. "Did you find anything else out?"

"They mentioned someone called the Keeper," Chris replied, shrugging. "I don't know what he or she is guarding, but they said that her sister hadn't rescued her yet and that your dad wants the prophecy," he added to Bobby, who stilled.

"Prophecy?" he repeated softly. "Not the one about you guys?" Everyone looked at him.

"What prophecy about us?" Wyatt demanded.

"Susan didn't tell you?" Bobby asked, looking at them all. He sighed. "You remember when I snuck you guys into my dad's office and he brought Bianca back? Well, we found this prophecy in Dad's desk. It was kind of ancient and it was torn in half, but mentioned all of you and said that there was this great evil you were supposed to fight."

"You're sure it mentioned us?" Brooke asked, nervously.

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Not by name. It said something like, 'two sons of the second daughter of sisters three' and 'the nymph born to witches' and 'the child of a fallen witch.' There was also something about 'a light from the darkness,' but we didn't know what that meant." He paused. "Susan didn't mention any of this to you?"

"Not that she's going to get the chance either," a familiar voice said. Everyone spun around to see Cassandra stepping into view. She smiled sinisterly. "And it's not like any of you are going to get the chance to talk to her either after tonight."

Brooke stood up, her eyes narrowing as she acknowledged Cassandra. "You guys take the potion and go after Tristan," she said, her voice dark. "I'll take care of this clown."

"Are you sure?" Bobby asked, looking warily at Cassandra, but the demon was grinning so diabolically that none of them asked again.

"Just go," she said, a deadly smile crossing her face. "I'll catch up with you later."

Chris looked at Wyatt, who hesitated, before nodding. "Let's go," he told the others. And automatically he, Chris, Bobby, and Ethan all either orbed, shimmered, or dematerialised to the Underworld, leaving the two women in the hotel room, circling one another.

Brooke was the first one to speak. "You hurt my friend," she said quietly. "You came after the man she loves, both of them. After all of us. So now . . . I'm afraid I'm going to hurt you."

Cassandra laughed jubilantly. "Oh, you really think you can stop me, can you, little witch? And just so you know, those shoes? They were old in the eighties," she said mockingly.

Narrowing her eyes, Brooke placed her hands on her hips. "Okay, these are one of a kind," she said in annoyance. "I had these special ordered. And you do not mock the shoes. Because when you do," she said, holding up a potion, "I tend to get really angry."

The demon was about to retort when she saw the label.

In Susan's handwriting, it said clear as day, _Ethan's Potion_.


	4. Right of Caste

**Legacy: Lovers Lane, Part II**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Four: Right of Caste

The pain faded after awhile, leaving her numb and delirious and barely coherent of what was going on around her. Susan was only awake enough to be aware of the pain leaving her and being dragged back to her cell. She felt weak and drained, unable to push herself even to the cot when she was thrown into the cell, lying where she was. She wanted to sleep . . . she was so tired . . .

But could she go to sleep and wake back up? Susan didn't know if she could. If she went to sleep, then would she never wake up, just drift in an endless sea until it ended for her?

"Susan."

Hearing someone say her name, Susan struggled to lift her eyelids enough to see where she was and she feebly raised her head, looking towards the source of the voice. "Neasa," she said, but it came out thick and slurred. "Where are we?"

"In the cell," the blonde witch told her, her eyes frantic. "Can you get over to me?" She stretched her hand out through the opening as far as she could, trying to reach for Susan. "We need to combine our powers."

"They won't work, I've tried breaking out using my powers," Susan said miserably. She couldn't count how many times she attempted to escape when she'd been here before. The cell doors were resistant to witches' magic, or so it appeared.

"I know, so have I." Neasa looked at her in desperation, trying to get her to listen. "But I've been thinking; maybe one witch alone can't get out of here. More than one witch can do things that a solitary witch can't. Susan, please just listen to me, I know what I'm talking about. Two witches have more power than one witch does. If we combine our powers, it might be enough to break us out."

"Neither one of us is strong enough for this," Susan whispered. Neasa looked at her.

"Do you want to see your friends again or not?" she asked quietly. Susan bit her lip, looking down. Her legs were weak, unable to support her, but she could crawl.

Reaching out, Susan grabbed the rock that made up the floor and yanked herself across it, doing her best to push herself along. More than once, she had to stop to take a breather and to massage her side where she was crawling, but eventually, she managed to get to the bench that was just below where the hole in the wall was.

Grasping the bench, she used it to push herself up and into a sitting position on the bench. Moaning, she leaned her head back against the wall. "I don't know about this, Neasa," she whispered, fear tracing into her voice. "As much magic as it would require, I don't know if I'd even survive that."

"You never know your strength until you're tested," Neasa murmured. Susan considered that as the blonde witch slipped her arm through the hole again, stretching out for Susan to take. "Let's do this."

Susan looked up at her desperate face and gave a small nod, grasping her hand.

Plunging into the depths of her magic, where weather manipulation and precognition had been born, Susan closed her eyes, stretching out to Neasa through their connected hands. Neasa felt like shape-shifting and telepathy, the latter shared with her sister.

Ancient, old magic that connected magical creatures through a bond that was barely understood anymore strung the two witches together. Susan only knew that with the bond, a strange white light appeared in her mind's eye, linking their entwined hands and she felt Neasa pushing her strength into Susan, giving it to her.

"No, Neasa," Susan croaked, trying to stop her, trying to break the bond, but Neasa's voice broken into her mind.

_Don't break the link. _

Blue eyes flew to Neasa, who gave her a small, tiny smile. _Don't be afraid, Susan. I've known what I've had to do for a long time. It was always my destiny to protect the Guardians. You are the one, the daughter of a fallen witch. In time, you will learn how to work with the others, to bind yourself to them. _

_You can't die,_ Susan protested. _Not because of me! I was the one stupid enough to get captured again! I shouldn't be the cause of your death. _

Neasa smiled gently. _You're not,_ she replied. _Not the cause of it, Susan Dawson, but the reason that my death had meaning. Don't let it be in vain. Take my sacrifice and use it to win this battle. You're going to need all of your strength to fight Tristan Hale. _

_Please, Neasa, don't—_

But the blonde witch ignored her as she released a huge eruption of magic, pulling her and Susan's together so tightly that Susan had no other option but to join with her and their magic strike at the bonds that held them prisoner. It was dragging her into it so strongly that if she resisted the magic, then she would have been brought down and unlike Neasa's sacrifice, her own would mean nothing.

An explosion erupted through the cells and Susan covered her head to shield herself from the blast. Only when it was over did she realise that she had let go of Neasa's hand.

Struggling to her feet, Susan realised that she was no longer as weak and feeble as she had been before. Neasa's strength hadn't been a full peak, due to how long she'd been down here, but it was more than she'd had.

And speaking of Neasa . . .

Turning towards the wall which was no longer there, Susan hurried through the rabble, looking for the blonde witch, who was lying motionless, her blue eyes flickering upwards, hazy and dull, but she knew Susan when the witchlighter knelt beside her.

"Susan . . ." she gasped, her breathing erratic and irregular. Susan grasped her hand, which had blood on it. There had only been one other time when she had wished—no, _prayed_—for the power to heal and that was during the deaths of her family. But no glowing light appeared from her hands to save the dying witch. "Tell my . . . my sister that I love her. Tell her what happened and to give you the other half of the prophecy. And take this," she whispered, tugging at the necklace around her neck, pressing it into Susan's palm. "I want you to have this." Her voice was more forcible now, urgent. "I want you to take my right of caste."

"Right of . . .?"

"Please, it's important," Neasa whispered. Susan stared at her, not sure what was happening, but she understood the seriousness of it. "My sister will explain to you what it means. I remember what you did for me, for us, and you risked your life to save mine before."

"You did no less for me," Susan whispered, looking at Neasa's broken, battered, dying body.

"My people do not forget that kind of act. My debt has been repaid, but it doesn't mean that you are any less deserving of this. I want you to take my right of caste," she said fiercely. "Swear it!"

"I . . . I swear it," Susan whispered, tears striking her eyes. "I swear it, Neasa. I'll take it. Now go in peace."

The blonde witch smiled as her head slumped to the side and with one last, shuddering breath, Neasa Jackson died, leaving Susan in the Underworld to fight the enemy that had caused her grief for far too long.

--

Bobby materialised into the Underworld, looking around for a sign that his sister had been there. At this point, he really didn't care if his father found out that he was helping them or not. His blood was boiling at the thought of whatever torture Susan was going through. He'd already lost his brother, he couldn't lose his sister too.

"They were down this way," Chris whispered, nodding towards one of the tunnels. Ethan moved swiftly ahead of them, not even looking around them as he headed through the tunnel. After looking at each other for a minute, Bobby, Wyatt, and Chris all followed him.

It only took a minute for Bobby to notice that they were being followed by demons, but kept his eyes straight ahead, moving to catch up with the older three. "You are aware that you're leading us straight into a trap?" he asked Ethan. The half-demon grinned, but nodded. "And that there's a bunch of demons following us?"

"I know."

"So . . . why don't we just take care of them?" Bobby inquired. He hated the thought of being followed, whether they were working for his father or not.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "If you feel that strongly about it, then go right ahead, kiddo."

Making a face at the nickname, Bobby whirled around and shot a stream of fire towards the two demons right behind them, vanquishing them, before turning the attack on the ones on their side.

"Cool move," Ethan observed. "Of course . . ." He shot an energy ball to his side, vanquishing an unseen demon. "You did miss one," he told Bobby, who rolled his eyes. "Come on, Dad's probably expecting us by now."

He gave Bobby a grin before heading through the tunnel, which opened up into a large gave. There was a man there that was talking with about two dozen demons, his expression gleeful and triumphant.

"Tonight, the threat of those witches ends. One of them will die tonight and the prophecy dies with them. And then when our master returns to Earth, we will be rewarded beyond imagination for what we have done for him. So tonight . . . the game begins." The demons all chuckled menacingly.

"Your orders are clear then, my master?" one of them asked.

"Completely," Tristan Hale said with a small laugh. "Wipe them out. All of them," he added, as though they hadn't understood that part of the command.

"Not so fast!" Ethan suddenly shouted, striding forward. At once, all of the demons' attention was turned towards the half-demon and three witches who accompanied him. "Hi, Dad," he said mockingly, his eyes narrowed. "Did you miss me?"

"Ethan," Tristan said darkly, "not the child that I was expecting. Where's your sister? I expected her to be here a half hour ago."

"She's a little busy right now," Ethan growled at him. "Where is she?"

"Oh, your precious little witch," Tristan sighed. "Don't worry about her; she's perfectly safe. Just recovering from a little experiment that we performed on her a few hours ago." The laugh that escaped from him was dark, menacing, and cruel. And that was all it took for Ethan to race forward and would've attacked his father had Wyatt and Bobby not held him back. "Oh, you've brought some friends with you. Pleasure. Was there not supposed to be another one of you? Where the nymph?"

"What do you want with my girlfriend?" Wyatt demanded, agitation filling through his face. Bobby actually felt sorry for him; what was going to happen when Brooke got the courage to tell him what was happening?

"_Your_ girlfriend?" Tristan repeated, looking highly surprised. "My, my, this really is embarrassing. I was under the impression that she was with that Whitelighter. Brandon James, I believe his name is?"

Bobby felt as though he'd been punched in the stomach and he stole a glance at Chris, whose face had gone pale and his green eyes went wide. Ethan paused, looking confused and perplexed. Wyatt, however, only looked angry.

"Yeah, well, I guess you got your sources wrong, then," he snarled at him, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yes, well, I'm going to have to question my daughter about that. She does tend to stick her nose in places where she doesn't belong. A thousand apologies, Wyatt Halliwell. But I have to say in my defence, Cassandra did seem to know what she was talking about when she saw Miss Murphy kissing Miss Dawson's Whitelighter."

Wyatt's confident look vanished and his arms dropped to his side, his expression anguished and pained. "What?" he whispered.

"Don't listen, Wyatt, he's trying to throw you off your guard," Ethan muttered under his breath. "Just try and stay calm, keep your mind on the mission and what we need to do."

He had no sooner finished speaking when the ground rumbled underneath them, throwing all of them off of their feet. However, it caused Tristan and the demons to lose their balance as well, making Bobby think that they were not the cause of the earthquake. But if they hadn't done it . . . then who had?

"What was that?" Chris demanded as he got to his feet. Tristan shook his head to clear it as the demons regained their composure as well. "What did you do that for?"

"That was not my doing, I assure you, but I will find out as soon as you four are dead and then I attend to those two girls of yours. Now," he added, looking towards his demons. "Take care of them."

"Same as always, Dad," Ethan drawled, "you can't even be bothered to take on three witches and your son. What's the matter? Are you afraid?" Bobby let out a low whistle as Tristan stiffened, turning back around to look at his son.

"_What did you just say to me_?"

"You heard me," Ethan replied, not moving a muscle, his eyes narrowed, his face calm. But his eyes betrayed the truth; there was panic set in them in pure frenzy. It was not fear for himself, however, but rather fear for the girl that he loved. "Are you afraid to fight?"

"Are you questioning me, boy?" Tristan growled.

Ethan shrugged. "I guess I am."

"I should have known better than to mix my bloodline with that weak human woman. You were always weak and foolish enough to let that witch ruin you and your prospects. You were my son and heir and should have known better than to let her destroy you!"

"Funny," Ethan said coolly, "I don't quite see it that way. In fact, she saved my life, kept me from being nothing more than a murderer."

"You should have known better than to cross me, boy," he hissed at him. "Now it's time to pay the price. It's such a pity. Just a pretty face caused you to fall and lose everything. And she doesn't even care about you anymore. Why else would she have moved on to the Halliwell boy?"

Pain set into Ethan's face and Chris suddenly looked uncomfortable. Bobby was about to say something—though he wasn't sure what—when the ground rumbled once again underneath them. But this wasn't like before, there was witch power coming from the earthquake this time and lightning exploded through the air, though there was no sky for it to come from, and Susan suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere.

"Hi, guys," she said brightly. "Miss me?"

"Hi," Bobby said weakly. She smiled at him before turning her eyes to Tristan, who seemed shocked at her sudden appearance.

"All right, Tristan," she said quietly, "it's time to finish this. Once and for all."


	5. Lost and Found

**Legacy: Lovers Lane, Part II**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Five: Lost and Found

Brooke kept the potion steady in her hand, watching Cassandra's every move, making sure that she didn't try anything. Cassandra's eyes had narrowed the moment that she had seen the potion and the label. "So . . ." she said softly. "That little witch isn't as foolish as I thought. She actually did take it into consideration that my little brother would have to be put down like a dog. She's smarter than I gave her credit for."

"You don't know the first thing about her," Brooke replied as witch and demon circled each other once again.

"Maybe not, but neither do you. If you had, then you would've known about your friend's love for Ethan. But instead, she left you in the dark and abandoned when my father made his move. She didn't even think about letting you know about the danger."

Even though her words struck and Brooke hated to admit it, there was a part of her that knew that Cassandra was telling the truth. It hurt, but Susan should have trusted her enough to tell her about Ethan. They had been friends for almost two years and yet she couldn't trust her enough to tell her?

But another part of Brooke sought the truth because she knew her best friend and knew what was probably going through her mind. "I know what it's like to lose the man you love," she replied coolly. "Do you know what it's like to love, Cassandra?"

The demon laughed cruelly. "Unlike my brother, I'm fully demon. I don't have the weak human blood inside me that causes me to lose sight of what's really important. And evil can't love. Not the way that you pathetic humans can. And you know, I think that's why you fail."

Brooke almost rolled her eyes. "Last I checked, we were still on the winning side," she said mockingly before concentrating and releasing a huge burst of telepathic energy, hurling it at Cassandra.

With a howl, Cassandra fell to her knees, clutching her head as she raised her head, brown eyes flashing as she conjured an energy ball, hurling it towards Brooke, who dived out of the way just in time to avoid the attack. That was all it took for the nymph-witch to lose her concentration and the telepathy ceased fire.

"That was a very nice trick," Cassandra mused as she got to her feet, conjuring another energy ball, holding it in her hand. "Do you have a few more before you use that little potion? And by the way, how do you even know that it's even going to work on me?"

"Because you and Ethan are of the same blood," Brooke growled, clutching the potion that she'd found earlier, while looting through Susan's stuff while Bobby was working on the potion.

To be truthful, she had been hoping to find some of Susan's diaries, in hopes that it might give her some answers to the questions that they all had, but all she had found were some of her clothes, a couple of demonology and occult books, the Book of Shadows, a few potions . . .

She had found this particular one hidden inside Susan's purse, firmly place inside a box so it wouldn't be smashed while she was carrying it.

At first, she hadn't known what it was, but then Brooke realised that whatever else Susan was, she was smart. She had to have known that whether or not Ethan was working for the side of good, he could still become a threat. And if that happened, she probably wanted to be ready.

At least, that's what Brooke assumed, because without Susan here to tell her what the potion was for, she had nothing else to go on beside assumptions. And she wasn't going to stand around deliberating it while she was fighting for her life.

"We only share half of our blood," Cassandra growled. "My mother was a full fledged demon who died at my father's hands for betraying him when I was still a youngling. Ethan's mother was a pathetic little human who our father put into a coma to keep her from ruining the boy. Not that it did much good. He got ruined without her help."

"And doesn't that teach you anything?" Brooke drawled. "Good _always_ triumphs over evil. That's the way that it works, honey, and that's the way it's always going to work? You want to know why? Because humans, whether they're magical or not, all have good and evil inside them. And for the most part, they choose good."

"Enough of this bantering," Cassandra scowled at her, hurling another energy ball at her. Narrowly missing it, Brooke's eyes narrowed towards a plant that was half-hidden in the corner before looking at Cassandra, anticipating her attack while pushing her magic into the half-dead plant.

Instantly, with the touch of a nymph and a witch who had the power over the earth, the plant sprung to life, its leaves suddenly green again and its vines twitched involuntarily.

As if she had heard the plant move—or she had felt the magic in the air—Cassandra whirled around just as Brooke commanded the plant to move and attack. The plant roared to life, its vines growing at a tremendous rate, wrapping itself around Cassandra, who shrieked in surprise and protest as she was suddenly held prisoner by the plant.

Sputtering insults at Brooke, she glared up at the nymph-witch as Brooke walked over to her, planting her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows towards the demon.

"When I get out of this . . ." she vowed.

"You won't be," Brooke replied quietly. She held up the potion and Cassandra's eyes widened in fear. "What's the matter, Cassandra? I thought that you were so sure the potion wouldn't work on you? Don't tell me that you've changed your mind."

Cassandra hissed at her, a low growl escaping from the back of her throat. "When my father finds out what you've done," she whispered, "you'll wish that you had never been born."

"We'll see," Brooke replied and hurled the potion at Cassandra. A dark glow showered over her, wrapping itself around the demon before it exploded into a thousand pieces, all landing away from Cassandra, who other than looking pale and weak, was relatively unharmed. "Uh . . ."

Cassandra looked relieved. "Well, guess that little witch's potion didn't work after all," she said mockingly.

That was it, Brooke thought desperately. With Wyatt, Susan, Chris, Ethan, and Bobby in the Underworld, she really had no other option. "Brandon!" she shouted.

Orbs filled through the room and the Whitelighter materialised, looking grave and anxious, but it changed to amusement when he saw the predicament Cassandra was in. "So, uh . . . what's going on here?" he wanted to know, his eyes twinkling with hilarity.

"We got into a little argument and then the potion that I found in Susan's purse didn't work on her," Brooke grumbled. Cassandra looked smug as Brandon's eyebrows furrowed.

"What potion?"

"I don't know; I found it in her purse. It was labelled "Ethan's Potion," so I just figured that it was a vanquishing potion that she kept just in case." Brooke shrugged. "It's not like I could ask her."

Brandon looked bewildered, but shook his head. "Well, we don't have time to deliberate. We need to talk," he said before looking at Cassandra before orbing crystals around her, keeping her in a crystal cage for the time being. The demon rolled her eyes. "Come on," he said, leading her through the hotel room into the bedroom.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked, folding her arms across her chest. "Where have you been?"

"I've been having a long talk with the Elders," Brandon said quietly. He wasn't looking at her. "They found out about what we've been doing. That's what took me so long. And . . . They weren't exactly pleased about it or that fact that you found out the truth."

Brooke took a deep breath. "And?"

"And . . . They gave me a choice. I could either leave you be and we stay away from each other . . . or I get sent away and never see you again."

The air left Brooke and she slowly sank onto the bed, her heart cracking in two. "They—They can't do that!" she protested, finally looking up at him. "It's not like this hasn't been done before! I mean—Chris and Wyatt's mom was with her Whitelighter, your and Susan's grandmother was with hers! It's not like this hasn't happened before—"

"Shh," Brandon said gently, placing a finger against her lips. "Brooke, this hasn't been done before. Not like this. Because of the circumstances being what they are, They won't back down. They're not even going to consider it. And . . ." He took a deep breath, looking down. "And I realised They're right."

Brooke felt like he'd punched her. "What? What are you talking about? How could the Elders be right?"

"Because I realised how much I love you," Brandon said simply. "Enough to realise that . . . I'm not the same guy you fell in love with. I'm not Ryan Dawson any more. He died eight months ago in Chippewa Falls." Tears filled in Brooke's eyes, but didn't fall. "I love you, Brooke Kathryn Murphy, but we can't do this any more. You need to move on and . . . and I'm sorry that I ever put you in this position."

"NO!" Brooke exploded. "No, you can't do this to me! You can't waltz in here and completely sweep me off my feet and make me not care about hurting the man I love and—" She stopped talking, her eyes going wide.

Brandon looked at her. "You see? This is the way that it's supposed to be, Brooke. You're supposed to move on, love someone else."

"I can't do this," Brooke whispered. "How am I supposed to live my life, knowing that we could just pick up where we left off? Knowing what we had, what could have happened?"

"You won't," Brandon whispered, kissing her forehead. "I love you, don't forget that. And this . . . is for your own good. I'll fix it all, I promise." He took a deep breath and blew a silver mist on Brooke, causing her to close her eyes and step back as the dust took place and the memories of everything that had happened between her and Brandon vanished, including of her discovery of his true identity.

--

Susan stood her ground, staring down Tristan as he faced her. She could feel Ethan's gaze on her and she couldn't stop herself from looking at him, his handsome face taking her in. This was it, she knew, this was where it was all going to change. But she wasn't going to do this alone.

Ethan raised a questioning eyebrow at her and she gave him a small nod, returning her attention to Tristan as Ethan left her friends' side and went over to hers, his hand slipping into hers and she felt a vial in her hands.

Without moving her lips, she whispered so quietly that nobody but Ethan had a chance of hearing, "Who's going to take the shot?"

"Take the potion," Ethan murmured. "He knows you don't have it, since he probably searched you when you got here. That means he'll suspect me and your friends."

Susan hesitated, but allowed the potion to slip into her hands and she slipped it into her pocket without anyone noticing as Tristan spoke. "It seems that I need to have my guards do a better job of guarding the prisoners. Check on the Keeper," he added, glancing at one of his demons. "I don't want Neasa to escape. If she does, it'll be on your hands."

Before the demon could shimmer out, Susan stopped him. "Don't even bother," she informed him. "Neasa's dead. She was killed when we combined our magic to break the chains. So you've got no leverage to use against her sister. Not that you're going to need again, because one or both of us is going to be dying tonight."

"Both?" Tristan repeated, a small chuckle.

Susan shrugged. "The only way that I'm dying is if I take you down with me, Hale," she told him.

He studied her for a minute, as if calling her bluff, but then chuckled menacingly until it turned into maniac laughter. "Finally!" he said once he recovered. "A witch worth killing." He laughed again before turning to his demons. "Kill them," he ordered. "But leave my son and the girl to me."

That was all it took for all twenty-two demons to charge forward into attack. Three witches against twenty-two demons, Susan thought despairingly, trying to keep an eye on her younger brother while she and Ethan moved away from each other, each anticipating the other's next move as they moved into attack against Tristan.

One thing that Susan had forgotten about Tristan Hale: he was very artful in his attack. He liked to play with his victims and torment them so that they made mistakes.

"Come on, Ethan," Tristan said softly. "You know that you can't defeat me with your weak human side in control. In order to stop me, you're going to have to give into the demon. Come on, boy," he said tauntingly. "Come on home, son, and we'll forget all about this."

Pain shot through Ethan's face and he looked at Susan despairingly. "You remember what I asked if I ever had to do this again?"

"No, Ethan," Susan said forcibly. "Not that way. I can't lose you again. We'll find another way." She looked at Tristan with pure fury in her eyes. "A way that doesn't involve me losing the man I love to evil." Unknown to her, Chris was just a few feet away, fighting off five demons when he heard her say that. "A man that I still love. We can do this together."

"And how, Miss Dawson, do you intend to kill a demon that's invincible to any potion that's ever been made?" Tristan asked in a bored tone.

Just as she was about to retort, she heard a yell as a body flew through the air and landed with a grunt on the wall opposite. Whirling around, she gasped as she saw her younger brother struggling to his feet as about ten demons were surrounding him.

"Hey!" she barked, conjuring up lightning and hurling it towards them, destroying about half of them. The others looked around at the witchlighter, whose blue eyes were narrowed in fury. "Listen up, boys. You guys can attack me, you can capture me and try numerous times to kill me, that's fine, you know. I can deal with that. Heck, I've been dealing with it all of my life. But nobody . . . _nobody_ messes with my little brother."

If anybody was standing outside of the cave at that moment, they could have heard a pin drop as all the demons and witches in vicinity froze, save for the one who spoke and the demon that stood next to her in support.


	6. Love Destroyed, Love Proclaimed

**Legacy: Lovers' Lane, Part II**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Six: Love Destroyed, Love Proclaimed

Wyatt couldn't believe his ears as the battle ceased for the moment. No one spoke, no one moved, no one even breathed as Susan released the ultimate revelation. One look at his brother and Wyatt knew that his brother had known, probably for some time. And Wyatt didn't know which bothered him more; the fact that Chris had kept something from him or that Brooke had apparently been sneaking around behind his back with Susan's Whitelighter or that Susan had a little brother whose father was—

Suddenly, it hit him in full force. Susan's mom couldn't be Bobby's, because they knew very well that Bobby's mother was under a controlling spell that his father had placed on her. Which meant that the only way that they could be brother and sister was if . . .

Peter Connelly was Susan's father.

Good gods, this day couldn't get any worse. Wyatt sincerely wished that he could go back to that morning and refuse to get out of it, because everything was so screwed up now that he could just scream.

Bobby was the first one to recover from the shock that Susan had placed everyone under, including those who knew about it. His eyes were wide as he looked at his . . . sister. His sister. Wyatt couldn't wrap his mind around that.

"You knew?" he whispered, his voice cracking. Susan's eyes were glistening with tears as she nodded, giving him a small, watery smile.

For a moment, all Bobby did was look at her, hesitation, anticipation, and fear written on his face. Then he lost all control as he jumped into action, racing towards Susan with such force that had she not been expecting it, then it probably would've knocked her over.

As it was, she caught him and held her little brother in her arms, soothing him gently as she cradled him, stroking his back as she laid Bobby's head onto her shoulder, rocking him back and forth, whispering something into his ear. As for Bobby himself, he was sobbing into Susan's shoulder, losing control for what was probably the first time in his life.

If the situation wasn't so serious, then it would have been so beautiful. Even Wyatt, who usually scorned chick flicks, had trouble keeping his emotions in check. In an effort to draw his attention from the scene more than anything else, Wyatt looked at his brother accusingly.

"She was worried that their father might do something to him if he found out that she knew about it," Chris said in an undertone. "She was just trying to protect him."

"Seems like she's doing that a lot lately," Wyatt murmured, stealing a glance towards Tristan, who had pulled out of his state of shock by this time.

"Enough of this!" he barked, causing the two siblings to look up. The demon was glaring at them loathingly. "So, young Master Connelly, it seems that you're not as loyal to your father as you let on. And he needs to pay more attention to his children, it seems, Miss Dawson. He had no idea that you were aware of your relation to them."

"There are lots of things that my father isn't aware of," Susan replied coldly as she got to her feet, pushing her brother behind her.

Tristan laughed dangerously as he took a step closer to them. Susan's eyes were narrowed as she reached for something in her back pocket. "You know, I wouldn't have minded your being with my son so much if you had chosen to go to evil with him. Instead you had to go and corrupt him. So you really leave me with little choice."

Just as he conjured an energy ball, taking aim as something smashed at his feet, causing him to cringe in pain, his face contorted as smoke began to rise. No one had noticed that Ethan had vanished from beside Susan and disappeared behind his father, releasing one of the two potions that he had grabbed off of the counter at the hotel room.

Tristan turned to see his son standing there as the fire surrounded him, continuing to rise around him. Ethan's eyes were cold as he moved to Susan and Bobby's side, watching as Tristan screamed and writhed in pain, howling as the fire continued to consume him before it finally exploded, sending all four of the witch and the half-demon into the wall opposite as the fire consumed Tristan and all of his demons.

For a moment, no one spoke, just stared at the place that had caused them grief for the past day and a half. Susan slowly stood up, her feet trembling as she walked uncertainly towards the place where Tristan had been destroyed.

"He's gone," she said, sounding as though she didn't quite believe it. "I can't believe it . . . it's finally over." She turned around, her eyes locking with Ethan's. "You're free."

"Yeah," Ethan murmured, looking right back at her. "Free." No one said anything as it hit Wyatt in full force what they were talking about; being free from his father meant that Ethan was free to be with the woman he loved.

Chris got to his feet and walked away from the cave, his expression conflicted as he turned away from them. After a moment of indecision, Wyatt headed after his little brother to see if he could help him. Susan watched the brothers go for a minute before turning to look at her own little brother, walking over to him.

Ethan gave her a small half-smile of understanding. "I'll, uh, go check on Brooke, see if she needs any help with Cassandra," he said, shimmering out.

"He sure knows when to bow out, doesn't he?" Bobby said dryly. Susan smiled faintly as she touched her brother's cheek, cupping his head in her hands. "I'm sorry . . . I wanted to tell you, so many times. I just thought that . . ."

"I know, little brother, I know," Susan said gently, pulling her against him. "It's all right, I'm not angry. I've known for a while now, ever since I first saw our father at his office." Bobby pulled away, shock evident in his eyes as he stared at her.

"You've known for that long and you didn't say anything?" he asked incredulously. Susan shrugged.

"I'll have you know that I can very well keep a secret when I want to," she informed him. Bobby smiled. "You do know that I meant what I said that day we got back from Neverland? That if you ever want a place to stay, you're always welcome at the apartment. I'm not just saying that as your sister, Bobby. I'm also saying that as your friend."

Bobby nodded. "I know. And I might take you up on that one day, but . . . I can't just leave Mom. It wouldn't be right. If I left her with Dad then . . . I'd never be able to look at myself again."

Susan nodded. "Believe me, I get it. If the roles were reversed and Peter had married my mom instead of yours and she was in Deidre's position, then I'd probably be doing the same thing. But Bobby . . . you have to understand that sometimes the only thing that a mother wants is to keep her child safe and I honestly believe that she would rather keep you safe than have you stay."

"You sound like Mom."

Susan smiled as she sat down with her brother. "I'm not going to let this go, you know," she told him.

"I know."

"But I won't say anything more about you leaving Peter and Deidre if you promise me one thing," she told him. "If Peter hurts you, for any reason, if he so much as lays a hand—or power—on you, then you leave and you come straight to me."

Bobby looked apprehensive, but he relaxed and nodded. "Okay, I promise," he said, hugging her tightly. Susan hugged him back, refusing to let go. When a few minutes passed, Bobby said, "Uh . . . Susan, you know you can let go of me now."

"Sooner I do that, the sooner you go back to our father's and the sooner I have to have a talk with Chris about Ethan," Susan said miserably. Bobby laughed as she said that.

"So I guess today was 'See how much stuff Susan can handle in one day'?" he wanted to know.

"Or it somebody's idea of a joke."

--

Wyatt was the one who answered the door when Susan knocked on it a few hours later. Due to the circumstances—and what was about to happen—she didn't think it was the best idea to barge right in. From the look on Wyatt's face, he wasn't too thrilled with her, but he seemed to understand as he let her inside.

"Be gentle," he whispered, almost pleadingly as she closed the door behind her. "Are you sure that you want to do this?"

Susan sighed as she looked at him. "I care about him, Wy, I do," she said softly. "Just . . . not the way that he wants me to. Not that way that I want to, because like it or not, we don't choose the people we fall in love with."

With a sigh, Wyatt nodded. "Do—do you know why Brooke's been avoiding me lately?" he asked, hoping that Tristan's taunt back in the cave had just been that, a taunt.

Giving him a small smile, Susan jerked her head towards the apartment next to them. "Go talk to her," she said softly. "She and Ethan are still dealing with Cassandra, but I think she'll be willing to talk to you. Go ahead," she said with a smile, "we'll be fine."

"One of you might be," Wyatt murmured as he left the apartment, closing the door behind him. Susan took a deep breath as she turned towards Chris's bedroom door and headed towards it, knocking on the door.

No one answered and she knocked again, opening the door as she knocked a third time. "Chris?" she asked as she saw him, sitting with his arms folded across his chest, just sitting on the bed.

Suppressing the urge to just go away and avoid this, Susan closed the door behind her, moving over to the chair at his desk, clasping her hands in front of her.

For a moment, she just sat there, unsure of where to begin. While she had fallen more deeply in love with a man than most knew in a lifetime, Susan was still a child when it came to dating. And breaking up was not something that she had gotten a whole lot of practice with.

"We need to talk," she finally said, looking up at Chris, who refused to even look at her.

"How about we don't talk and you just leave?" he snapped, his eyes filled with rage and anger as he stood up, walking over to the window so that he wouldn't have to look at her. "You know, I actually cared about you, Susan. I did, but . . . tell me, are all girls from Wisconsin such players or is that just you and Brooke?"

"Okay, I think that's taking things a little bit far," Susan said, angry. "You can be mad at me if you want to, Chris, but can we albeit the name calling? There's really no need for it and to be honest, it just makes you look really immature." She glared at him and he turned back around, waiting. "I am sorry that I didn't tell you about Ethan, okay? I am. And I'm sorry that I hurt you. Do you think for one minute that I planned it like this? To . . . lead you on just so I could hurt you after a few months?"

Chris shrugged. "To be honest, I really don't think I know you at all anymore," he said coldly. Susan sighed, running her hands through her hair. "Just say what you want to say and get out."

Susan looked at him. "Okay," she said quietly. "I love him, Chris. I love Ethan more than . . . anything else in this world. And even though I tried to deny it for awhile, tried to force myself to move on, break myself off from the things that hurt me, I have always belonged to him. When he left Chippewa Falls, he took my heart with me. And he left his own with me." Chris said nothing. "I did care about you, okay? I did like you and that scared me because I had been in only one relationship in my entire life and I wasn't sure if I was ready to be involved with someone again.

"I guess I should have realised then that . . . I wasn't ready. I didn't want to move on from Ethan. He and I . . . we share a bond that's deeper than love. It's almost . . . an animalistic need for each other. And I am not saying these things to hurt you, I am trying to make you understand. Ethan left me because his father would try and use me against him, to try and turn him back."

"Didn't stop him from coming after you, or us," Chris shot back.

"No, we knew that he would come eventually. But Ethan hoped that by the time came that Tristan involved me again, that we would be prepared. Maybe I would've created a vanquishing potion by then or . . . I don't know, that we would be ready for him. And it worked, didn't it? Tristan's gone forever. He's not coming back and we did it together. All of us," she added for emphasis when Chris's stony look didn't fade.

"You mean you and your new boyfriend," he said coldly. "The rest of us didn't do anything."

"Then what have you been doing all day? You and Wyatt tracked down Cassandra and fought off about twenty-two demons. Bobby remade the potion after Cassandra destroyed it and Brooke apparently took down one of the worst demons I've ever faced. Maybe Ethan and I fought the final battle, but all of us worked together as a team. That's the way that we roll. We're supposed to face this together, not as lovers, but as friends."

"Now you're going to try the 'let's be friends' thing?" Chris demanded, getting to his feet. "Listen, I don't care what happened between you and Ethan. Break up with me and be with him if you want to, but don't try the friends thing, because you know what? It never works and it just ends up making things worse than they were to begin with. And, oh, yeah, the whole working together thing? It's not going to work either."

Susan looked at him. "Why not?"

"Why didn't you tell any of us about the prophecy?"

If he had reached out and hit her, then he couldn't have struck her much harder. Susan stood still for a minute. "Because I didn't know what it meant," she said finally. "Because I wanted to find some answers before I told anybody else. Because I didn't want anybody else to worry about it."

"Yeah? Well that turned out well. Screw fate," he said angrily. "You're gonna have to find two other sons of a middle sister, because I'm not having any part of this anymore. Fight your father by yourself, Susan. Because I'm out. I'm throwing in the towel," he said coldly as he headed out of the door. "You can let yourself out."

--

Walking into the girls' apartment, Wyatt found Brooke in the kitchen, keeping an eye on Cassandra, who was tied up in the chair, while Ethan was sitting at the table, an amused look on his face. "You know, you really brought this upon yourself, Cassie," he told her with a smirk. "Hey, Wyatt."

"Hi," he said, not really sure where to place Ethan. On the one hand, he was the cause of his brother and Susan's break-up—as he was pretty sure that they were doing right now—but on the other hand, he seemed like a pretty decent guy.

Deciding to wait until later to think about that, Wyatt looked at his own girlfriend, who smiled up at him. "Hey, can we talk?" he asked. Brooke bit her lip, looking at Cassandra worriedly, but Ethan just waved her concern aside, giving them a grin.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her," he assured them. Wyatt took his girlfriend's hand as Cassandra started mouthing off again. "I don't suppose I could gag her, though, could I?" he called after them.

Waving his hand, Wyatt orbed a dirty sock into Cassandra's mouth, ceasing her being able to talk, as he led Brooke into her bedroom. She sat down on her bed, crossing her legs as she looked up at him.

"So, what's up?" she asked.

"I wanted to talk to you," Wyatt said uncomfortably. "About Brandon." Brooke just looked at him, waiting. "Look, Tristan said some things . . . about the two of you and I just wanted to ask if it was true. Can you promise to tell me the truth? Please?" he added. Brooke nodded.

"Yeah, sure, I promise," Brooke told him. "But I doubt it is. Tristan is—was—a demon and unless they've got some humanity in them, I don't think that they're known for their honesty."

Wyatt chuckled. "Yeah, the thing is . . . he said that you were . . . making out with Brandon," he said quietly. Brooke looked incredulous and even a bit astonished. "Just tell me the truth, will you? Were you kissing him?"

"No!" Brooke exclaimed. "Of course not! How could you think that I would do something like that? Okay, so I did that with Ryan, one time, but that doesn't mean I'd do it again." She stood up. "I learned my lesson the hard way."

"Then . . . how come you've been avoiding me the past few weeks?"

Brooke took a deep breath. "Because . . . I've been waiting for the perfect moment to tell you this. Not that this is the moment that I imagined, but I guess since you're really leaving me with no other choice." She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I love you."

All the air left Wyatt's chest and he stared down at his girlfriend, happy elation soaring through him. "You—you love me?" he asked her, unable to believe his ears. She nodded, waiting for a reply and he laughed, scooping her up into his arms and delivering the most passionate, ecstatic, thrilled, emotional, fervent kiss that he'd ever given her.

When he pulled away, Wyatt grinned down at her. "Just in case that wasn't enough of a reply for you, I love you, too," he told her. Brooke squealed happily as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately, unaware that a Whitelighter was listening to their proclaimed love.

Brandon James leaned against the door, trying not to listen to the woman he loved declare her love to another man, but knew that it was the right thing. Their lives had taken a drastic turn eight months ago and while he knew he would love her forever, he could no longer be a part of her life.


	7. Love Reawakened

**AN:** Okay, guys, in case nobody understood this, because sometimes when I write stuff, it makes sense to me but not the rest of the world, Brooke remembers absolutely nothing of anything that happened with Brandon the last few weeks, so she does _not_ remember her kiss with him, so when Wyatt asked her during the last chaper, she was not aware that she was lying to him. Just making that clear!

Um . . . okay, read and review?

**Legacy: Lovers' Lane, Part II**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Seven: Love Reawakened

Susan opened the door to her apartment, tears streaming down her cheeks as she closed it behind her, tossing her jacket onto the chair as she pressed her face into her hands, trying to compose herself when she heard footsteps approached and she looked up.

Ethan was watching her, his expression unreadable as he walked hesitantly forward, his arms open and she fell into them, sobbing into his chest as she clung to him. He kissed her forehead as he whispered soft nothings into her ear as he scooped her up, carrying her over to the sofa and depositing her into his lap.

"You know," Susan whispered as she laid her head onto his chest, "I can understand him being mad and he's got every right to be. But . . . he wasn't just mad, he was . . . he . . . he pretty much told me that I can go fight my own battles and he wasn't going to even consider fighting alongside me anymore."

"Do you want him to?" Ethan asked her, stroking her forearm and she glanced up at him.

"It's not a matter of wanting or not, Ethan," she said mournfully. "My father's not going to stop coming after us until all of us are dead. With us split up, it'll be easier to divide us."

Pausing, Ethan tilted her head towards hers. "Let me see that prophecy, Susie," he said gently.

Glancing at him for a minute, Susan nodded, climbing off of him and leading him into the bedroom. As she passed the kitchen, she stopped, backtracking and peering inside, where she saw Cassandra gagged and tied to a chair, with a crystal cage around her, pretty much cutting off any escape route.

"Oh, I would kill to have a camera right now," she said with a laugh. Ethan snorted as his eyes twinkled at his sister before they walked into her bedroom and she headed over to her nightstand.

Picking up a few magazines and necklaces and other knickknacks that were in a typical teenage girl's nightstand, Susan reached the bottom of the drawer and pushed in the back of it, revealing a false bottom. Inside was a box covered in dust.

Reaching inside, she blew off the dust, causing both of them to cough and she waved the dust away from them, pulling open the lid to the box.

Ethan peered over her shoulder as Susan put aside all of the pictures of her and Ethan together that were in the box. The box was more than just a box; it was actually her treasure box, things that she had put away for safekeeping. And it seemed the best place to hide the prophecy she'd stolen.

"Here it is," she said finally, pulling the ancient parchment out of the box and handing it to her lover. Ethan took it, his brow furrowed as he scanned the page carefully.

"Okay, let's see what we got here," he said slowly. "_At the birth of the twenty-first century, there will be five children born within the first ten years of its life. Two sons of the second daughter of sisters three. A nymph born to witches. The child of a fallen witch. A light from the shadows. Each is strong on their own, but together they are the key to destroying That-Which-Cannot-Be-Named._" He shook his head. "Okay, there's really not much room for mistakes, is there? Sisters three is kind of obvious, meaning the Charmed Ones and the second daughter is obviously Piper. And she's only got two kids." He sighed, looking down at the paper. "What I don't get is why half of the prophecy is missing."

"It was split between two witches," Susan explained. "Noreen and Neasa, twin sisters that I met a couple of years ago, but I didn't know that they were the Keepers of this prophecy until yesterday. Neasa was kidnapped by your dad and they got her half of the prophecy and Peter kept it until I stole it back. Noreen has the other half."

"This is the Neasa that we were talking about earlier?" Ethan sought to confirm and Susan nodded. "Okay, then we need to find Noreen, find out what exactly the prophecy entails."

"And we need to tell her about her sister's death. I have to tell her how her sister died," Susan whispered as she laid her head onto Ethan's chest. "She died saving my life, Ethan. I owe her that." She paused. "Ethan?"

"Hmm?"

"What is a 'right of caste'?"

Her question caused Ethan to look up in surprise. "It's, uh, it's sort of an honourable tradition amongst Amazon warriors," he explained, frowning in remembrance. "When an Amazon passes their right of caste upon someone else, usually another Amazon, they inherit all of their possessions, property, and heritage. Their position is passed on to the person they chose. It's usually at the point of their death."

His words made Susan start and she sat up straight. "Wait a minute—Amazons? Like fierce, women warriors, those kinds of Amazons?" Ethan nodded. "And this right of caste pretty much . . . oh, boy," she said, leaning her head against the wall. "Oh, boy . . . Neasa, what on earth were you thinking?" she whispered, shaking her head.

"Uh, Susan, you mind catching me up here? I know it's been a long day, but I'm kind of in the dark here."

"Right, sorry. Uh . . . Neasa and I bound our magic together and broke the chains that were imprisoning us," Susan explained. "She gave me what little strength she had and as she was dying, she said she wanted to give me her right of caste." Ethan gave a start of surprise. "So . . . that means—"

"That Neasa was an Amazon," Ethan finished up for her. "And now you're one, too."

Susan sat there for a full minute, barely able to sink her thoughts into this new revelation. "This has been one long day," she muttered, taking the prophecy back and sticking everything back where it had been before she had taken it out. "I'm going to bed and think about some of this more tomorrow."

"Yeah, you should, it's been a long day for you," Ethan said, smoothing her hair gently. "I'll, uh . . . go crash on the couch."

Sitting up, Susan looked at him in annoyance. "If you think that I'm going to let you sleep anywhere besides right next to me, then you have another think coming," she said, glaring at him. "Now, either you lie down right here or I'm going with you out to that couch."

"What about Cassandra?" Ethan pointed out, but he was already kicking off his shoes and pulling his jacket off as he said this.

"She's not going anywhere. Brooke used the high-quality crystals. The only way that she's going to get out of that is if one of us lets her out. So trust me when I say that she's not going anywhere for awhile, not until we figure out how to vanquish her without blowing up the apartment building, because I have grown accustomed to this apartment."

Ethan chuckled as he laid down on the bed, drawing her into his arms and Susan laid her head down onto her bed, feeling more content, more safe, more relaxed, and more at home than she had felt in years. Since he had left, actually.

"I love you," he said softly.

"I love you," she whispered back. "I tried so hard not to, but I'm so sick of fighting, Ethan. I'm sick of fighting against my feelings when I know what I want, because it's the same thing that I wanted when I was seventeen. I'm just sorry that it took me to getting kidnapped to realise it."

"No regrets?" Ethan questioned, a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, as if he wasn't sure if she really wanted to be with him.

She shifted her position so that she was looking at him directly in the eyes. "The only regret that I have is that it took us this long to realise that we still want to be together." Susan gazed into his eyes, loving the way that he made her feel as though there were only two people in the world, as though time had stopped and only the two of them had existed. "So . . . what happens now?" she asked.

"Well, tomorrow, I'm going to go see if I can track down the Amazon clan and see if Neasa belonged to any of them," Ethan said gently. "And then I'm going to come back here to my girlfriend and stay with her, because she needs me now more than ever. If you'll have me," he added worriedly.

Susan chuckled. "You really think that I risked my life to save you, got captured, had sort of an epiphany moment when I was down there, and went up against the demon who has caused me nightmares, and broke up with my boyfriend if I wouldn't have you?" she asked him. "I want you, more than anything. The only question is, do you want me?"

"Always," Ethan said softly, huskily as he flipped her over and cupped her head in his. "And I am going to come back, I will."

"I'm going with you," Susan protested, not ready to let him out of her sight just yet.

"And what are you going to do about school?" Ethan said, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Sweetheart, as much as I would love to have you with me, you need to stay here. I don't know how long finding the Amazons is going to take."

"Well, finals start the day after tomorrow and then three days later, winter break begins," Susan told him with a shrug. "You start out tomorrow and I'll catch up with you in a couple days."

Ethan paused. "What about Christmas? You love Christmas, sweetheart, and you don't really want to spend your first California Christmas tracking down a bunch of warriors, do you?"

"I want to spend it with you," Susan replied, laying her head on his arm. "The best thing about Christmas is spending it with the people that we love and what's the point if you're not there? There'll be other Christmases, Ethan, but right now, I want to spend my time with you."

For a moment, Ethan just studied her carefully and then he grinned. "Okay, so after we find the Amazons, we're going to come back here and have a nice Christmas dinner, whether it happens on December 25th or not," he said firmly. "And then we are going to figure everything out, with your dad and we're going to keep your brother safe and stop whatever it is from invading, because I'm not going to let you do this by yourself."

"Good," Susan whispered. "Because I think that I'm going to survive you leaving again. Ethan, I've been so lost since . . . since you left and Ryan and Mom died . . . I don't think I'm going to survive another goodbye."

Ethan sighed. "I don't blame you for not really believing that I'm here for good. The only way that is going to convince you is time, I suppose. Time to heal. Time heals all wounds, Susie, much as it might seem impossible. And I'm going to be here to help you every step of the way."

He bent over her then and she leaned closer as his lips hovered over hers, capturing hers in a kiss that showed both of them just how much they had been missing the other. And for the first time since her twin brother and mother's deaths, Susan Dawson finally began to reawaken.

**--Fade to Black--**

**End Credits**

Guest Stars:

Robert Pattinson as Ethan Hale

Kiera Knightly as Cassandra Hale

Eric Bana as Tristan Hale

and Scarlett Johansson as Neasa Jackson


End file.
